Beauty and the Beast
by That Lonely Girl on a Laptop
Summary: Once upon a time, there lived a princess burdened with a curse, a scientifically brilliant country girl desperate to escape her mundane and simple life to explore the vast world and a castle full of colourful beings all hoping that the pair will fall in love before the last petal falls... but can they look past each other's flaws and see they aren't so different after all...? AU
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, far away in the Land of Ooo, there was a royal family who ruled the land. King Hunson and his queen had two children. The younger of the two was Marshall Lee, a mischievous and borderline sadistic lad who loved to play tricks on his parents and the servants. Often these pranks would go too far, resulting in broken windows, injuries and the occasional near-death. But the servants were powerless to stop him, the king allowed him to get away with murder and they were hardly able to punish him.

The king himself was no better. He was a corrupt ruler, passing laws and tax hikes which caused much misery for those under his rule. It turned many against him, but much like the servants against Marshall, they were powerless to stop him. This applied also to the queen who was under his rule just as harshly as the servants and the people of Ooo.

Life in the castle was dark and gloomy, with the exception of one thing: the princess. She was unlike any other in her family. Sweet, emotional and musically gifted, she was the patch of blue sky in a storm for the servants who adored her music and singing. But her father would not approve of her talents. He'd try to taint her genuine and kind nature by exposing her to his corrupt methods of ruling, believing that –as the oldest- she would follow in his footsteps and take over; but only if she ran the kingdom as he did.

As time would go on, his words began to take an effect on the princess. Her sweetness melted and taken over by cold harshness. She'd snap at the servants and close herself away in her room, surrounded in her own solitude, only wanting her music as company. She would express herself only through songs and would remain emotionless otherwise. Her coldness did not go un-noticed. Many of the servants within the castle would attempt to bring the princess out of her hardened shell and return to her former self but one at a time, they would all give up. The only exception to this were the three triplets. Jake, Finn and Fiona were the only ones to get through to the princess. Despite the fact that they had been found by her father on the street as orphans and only brought them in to be servants, the princess was fond of the three, being the only things she grew to care about besides music. She grew to love them like siblings, them being the only light in her life.

Life was pretty much the same for the princess, until one day on a cold November night, the King and Queen were summoned to tend to business with the royal council. The decision was made for the princess and Marshall to be left at the castle to be tended with the servants. The princess was enlightened. Without her father's control, she was free to write and perform her music freely without anyone telling her otherwise, leaving the servants to deal with her destructive sibling, who took delight in tormenting the servants. She didn't care. She didn't care at all.

One night in the early days of December, the princess was wandering the main hall of the castle aimlessly, admiring the portraits on the wall. Many of them consisted of the whole royal family, and many others were of her alone. She smiled at it, quite proud of her appearance in them.

Suddenly, a knock at the door caught her attention. Her green eyes widened, who could it be?

"Somebody get that!" The princess shouted, her call echoing throughout the castle's halls. There wasn't a response. Everyone must have been in the upper floors or something. The princess sighed harshly, irritated that she would have to get the door herself!

She pushed the huge, heavy door open. A harsh gust of wind almost blew her off of her feet as the snow storm raged through the night. Once she got her bearings, the princess noticed a hooded figure standing there.

"What do you want?" she growled, who did this commoner think they were approaching the castle like that?

"Please miss…" a male voice wavered in the wind, "I am a weary traveller and have come a long way. May I take some shelter from the bitter cold?"

The princess sneered at the hooded man. His cloak was ragged and ruined. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in such a long time. "Why should I? Go away!"

"Oh, miss please I beg you! Look!" he dug into a pocket, "Take this rose in exchange!" with that he brought the said flora out of his pocket. The princess gazed at the flower. It was a fresh and beautiful rose. But it wasn't enough.

"Make it dance or get lost!" The princess snarled as she started to close the door.

"Oh, come on, madam! Surely you know that true beauty comes from within!" the man said. The princess could have sworn that she heard a fiendish giggle in his voice.

"No! I won't discuss this anymore! Leave me alone!" She pulled the door almost fully closed, leaving only a gap. Before she closed it fully, she put her head back out, "And if that's true, why do you wear that cloak?! Show yourself!"

The man giggled again, "If you insist!" Suddenly, without warning, the man threw his cloak off. Light caused the princess to shield her eyes. She stumbled back into the hall, tripping over her heels and falling back. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the man. It was nothing like she had ever seen before! His skin was green and he was in ragged yellow clothing with a tall hat and boots. Sparkles flew from his palms, which only alarmed the girl more.

"What are you?!" she shrieked.

"I am the _Magic Ma-a-a-a-an!"_ The stranger sang boastfully, before turning his devilishly grin towards her.

"A Magic- Oh my god, I'm so sorry I-" the princess stuttered violently.

"Nope, you're not going to try and justify yourself, madam!" He laughed, "I've seen all I need to see!"

"No, don't hurt me! I'll do anything-!"

"Oh Ho! I've been waiting for an opportunity like this! Punishing someone for their mistakes! You have been deceived by your own cold heart and for that I will cast a curse upon your castle and all who live here!"

"Please forgive me, I didn't know!"

"Hee hee, I'm going to have fun with this!" With that, the Magic Man cackled fiendishly and zapped the ground in front of the princess, frightening her. With a shriek, she scrambled to her feet and desperately tried to make it up the stairs, losing her heels in the process.

"Get back here you little bug!" His cackle came from behind her. The princess screamed and started running through a long corridor. The uproar seemed to alarm the other servants as many came out of rooms, just to see the princess running for her life as the green magician charged after her, laughing manically. She couldn't turn around to see what was going on but she suddenly heard a loud **Zaaap!** noise behind her, followed by an agonising scream which accompanied the Magic Man's laughter. As she ran, she heard more and more zaps and more and more cries of agony of those who were hit and their bodies twisted and contorted as they were transformed. She knew by the shadows on the wall. She saw one of her dear friend, Jake, who howled in agony as he was violently morphed into the large shape of a canine.

As she finally came to the end of the hall, she opened the huge doors to take refuge in the music room in the West Wing, the only place she felt safe. Retreating to a corner, all she could do was wait and hope he wouldn't come…

"Guess _whoooooo!_ " the man's haunting laugh rang as the doors were blasted open. His eyes gleamed as he advanced on the cowering girl.

"Let me go! Please! Don't hurt me! I'll do anything! _Anything!_ " she cried, tears of fear rivering from her eyes as she begged.

"Hmm… let me think…" the Magic Man staled deliberately, "…Nope!" He glanced up in an exaggerated manner, "Oh!" he snapped his fingers, "I know _just_ the thing for you!"

The girl shut her eyes, praying that he would just disappear…

"Since you can't seem to find beauty within… I will… turn you into what you are!"

"No…" the princess whispered…

"A _beast_!"

With that, a blast shot from the man's palms, striking the princess in the chest. And with that, he simply vanished, as if he hadn't been there in the first place.

The princess' heart raced as she suddenly felt a rush of agony course through her body. She screamed and thrashed as the curse began to take effect. Her arms grew and her hands morphed into huge black paws, the size of catcher's mitts with an ivory claw on the end of each digit… Her top canines lengthened painfully to an ungodly length as all her teeth enlarged and sharpened which couldn't possibly fit in her small mouth… blackish blue fur sprouted painfully throughout her frame… her face morphing painfully… her legs bending into hocks… her body contorted and twisted as she changed, ripping her dress… the pain was indescribable… the princess' cries of pain became a frightening and rumbling roar… all she could do was pray that it would soon end….

Finally… it stopped… the princess panted exhaustedly with her eyes closed… after a few seconds she opened them slowly. The music room was completely barren. The princess glanced down towards the marble floor of the room and shrieked at what she saw. The face of a huge black monster! The shock causes her to reel back into the huge mirror on the wall, causing the whole thing to smash.

"No…!" She panted, an unnatural growl escaping her throat. She turned to face the shattered mirror, seeing her vile and hideous reflection for the first time…

"NO!" She roared, throwing her head back in despair, he bellow rattling every door and windowpane in the castle…

Unaware of it all, Marshall continued to wander around the castle, looking for anything or anyone he could harass. As he wandered, he came across the music room. Surely his sister was in there, maybe he could prank her!

He opened the door, ready to shout "Boo!" but he was immediately frozen as his eyes suddenly saw the ripped dress on the ground and, standing behind it, a huge blackish-blue beast with an unruly black mane crouched in the middle of the room, growling heavily with every breath it took.

Hearing his footsteps, the beast turned its ugly head towards the young boy, whose eyes had dilated in fear.

"Marshall…It's me." It reached a huge, black and clawed paw towards him.

The boy let out an ear splitting scream, "MONSTER!"

"No, Marshall, it's me! I won't hurt you!" The beast rumbled, exposing its deadly ivories in his direction. The small boy screamed and fled the room, leaving the beast alone in the hall…

A few hours later, the king and queen came back to the castle. They were surprised and alarmed at the eerie stillness of the castle. Not a sound could be heard… until…

"MOM! DADDY!" A terrified cry alerted the royals as their young son charged down the stairs and into his mother's arms.

"Marshall! Whatever's the-"

"MONSTER! MONSTEEEER!"

Just then, the said monster appeared at the stairs. It's hideous silhouette was barely seen by the lack of light. All that was clearly seen were its long white fangs and eyes…

"Mum? Dad?" The beast rumbled as it took several steps down the stairs.

Repulsed and terrified by the horrible creature, the king, his queen and Marshall fled the castle and the kingdom… never to be heard of again…

In all of her anger and rage, the princess-turned-beast tore through the castle, destroying any mirror or portrait of herself she could find. In the vast castle, there were many… and it was sunrise as the beast finally retreated to her room to destroy the final portrait in the castle. She was tired, afraid and her mutated hands bled from the broken glass of mirrors smashed by her rage.

Upon entering the room, she was alarmed to find _Finn_ … cowering behind the curtain to the balcony, his eyes wide with terror and he was shaking violently.

"Finn…" the beast tried to say softly but it still came out as a snarl.

"N-No!" he whimpered.

"I won't hurt you…" the beast tried to assure him as it came closer. Finn's eyes widened even further as it approached him.

"Stay back!"

"I'm not going to do anything to you…" it growled in a quieter tone, confusing and frightening the boy.

It had gotten within arm's reach of the boy when a voice interjected.

"Oh how sweet!" a fiendish laugh rang, making the beast's teeth bare. It spun to see a glowing mirror on a table. Frustrated at the sight of it, the beast grabbed it and reared it above its head in order to smash it.

"Woah, easy, fuzzy! Lemme finish!" the voice rang mockingly. The beast lowered it to glare into the glass.

"What more could you do to me!? You've already taken everything away from me!" it snarled in such a manner, that it caused the blonde haired male let out a screech and race out of the door, leaving the beast alone with the Magic Man in the mirror.

"Maybe that was a _tad_ harsh of me…" he giggled.

"A TAD?!" The beast bellowed, "You ruined my life!"

"Oh shut up and listen! I guess I can't make things _too_ difficult for you… so here, you can have this mirror as your window to the outside world. I mean, ha, who wants to see THAT walking around?"

The beast moaned mournfully at his last statement.

"Also, I left that rose on the table." The beast raised her head to look at it. The beautiful flower was blooming and shimmering in the sunrise as if it was covered in thousands of tiny rubies.

"Why?" was the only thing the beast could mutter.

"Here's the deal, ok? That rose will bloom until your twenty first year. About ten years from now. If you can fall in love with someone and have someone love you as you are before the last petal falls, then the spell will be broken. But if not, you'll be doomed to remain a beast for all time! Simple, right! You get my drift?"

The beast's ears faltered and its eyes closed mournfully. What else could it say?

"I… understand…"

"Good." The Magic Man laughed one more time, "Don't get your hopes up though, who would want to fall in love with _you_? Well, ta!" and with that, he was gone… all the beast could do was stare disgustedly at her rancid reflection… the beast covered her green eyes with a huge forearm and grabbed the only source of comfort she could find… her raggedy old teddy, Hambo. The beast curled up in a corner of her room, cowering and frightened as she clung to Hambo desperately wishing this was a nightmare… but it wasn't…

As the years past… she fell into despair… and lost all hope… for who could ever learn to love a beast?


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, all. So as it was shown in the last chapter, this is an AU story which is going to have a mix of the Disney movie with an Adventure Time twist. So yeah I hope this will go well. Also thanks to WarmthPill and FexGoneHavoc for their lovely comments, they were great encouragement!**

As years passed, the villages surrounding the castle soon forgot about the royal family. They hadn't been seen since their sudden disappearance just under ten years ago. Many were relieved that they would not have to be under the king's cruel rule and the mystery of what caused them to disappear in the first place faded from people's minds until it was never thought of.

One individual who hadn't thought about it was a young maiden known as Bonnibel. A tall and slim young woman with thick hot pink hair that tumbled past her shoulders and shimmering blue eyes like a couple of sapphire pebbles. She was often seen as "strange" throughout the village. While many of its inhabitants were farm people and sellers who would tend to their own business, apart from the occasional gossip of course, Bonnibel would often remain at home in her cellar tinkering and fiddling with scientific chemicals while assisting her inventor father, Maurice. Bonnibel had a fascination with science as far as she could remember and took any opportunity to try new experiments and ideas.

One particular day, Bonnibel decided to go into the village, hoping to find another book on science regarding mechanics as her father was busy with yet another invention. This one was important as he was hoping to enter this in the next science fair. Usually Bonnibel would accompany him, since he would often get himself lost but this year the pair agreed that he would go alone. A number of their animals had given birth over the last month and needed tending to so Bonnibel had volunteered to stay behind.

The young woman hummed softly as she wandered from their remote cottage, stepping around rogue chickens and towards the town. She sighed contently, the summer was drawing to a close and the first of the winter wind was beginning to blow. As she walked down the lane, she'd politely greet every merchant she passed.

"Same old, same old…" she sighed under her breath as she wandered through the village. As she walked, she ignored the gossiping townspeople who were beginning to gather, whispering into each other's ears.

"Look there she goes, that girl is strange…"

"Dazed and distracted…"

"Can't you tell…?"

"Never part of any crowd…"

"Cause her head's up on some cloud…"

"No denying she's a funny girl, that Bonnibel…"

Bonnibel shook her head lazily, drowning out their words. She wasn't distracted, and she didn't have her head in the clouds. Nobody in the village understood her. They were all wrapped up in their own lives to really take the time to listen to her or get to know her.

'Oh well…' the young woman said in her head, 'I still have dad to talk to…' which was true, Maurice was often viewed by the town as 'crazy' or a 'lunatic' due to his intense interest in inventing. But Bonnibel couldn't see it that way. He had a passion and he was following it, something she could _always_ support.

Turning down a small street, the pink haired girl pushed open the door to the library. Immediately she was greeted by the kind and elderly librarian, who was always pleased to see her.

"Ah good morning, my dear." He smiled warmly at the young pink-haired woman, "What can I do for you?"

"Hello, sir!" she chirped, "I'm here to return this book!"

The old man chuckled, "You held onto that for a while, did you like it?"

"Oh I loved it! I couldn't put it down. It's really helped with my experiments."

"Has it? How have they been going lately, anyway?" he asked genuinely.

"Nothing major, sir, but it's still _very_ fascinating! Do you have any other books I could use?"

"Ha ha! I'm afraid not, you've read every scientific book I have owned in the last month!" he laughed gently.

"That's ok." Bonnibel waved her hand dismissively, "I think I'll read another fantasy." She said as she turned around to browse the shelves, "Oooh! What about this one?" she showed the librarian.

"This one? Oh, Bonnie, you've read this twice!" the man laughed as he examined the book.

"I know I'm more into science and stuff but I just _love_ that story! Far off places… daring swordfights… magic spells… a prince in disguise-"

The bookseller cut her off with his kind laughter, "Well, my friend if you like it all that much, it's yours!" he gently patted her on the shoulder and pushed the book into her hands.

"Oh, but sir!"

"No, no I insist!"

"Oh my! Thank you!" Bonnibel smiled broadly with glee, "Thank you so much!" and with that, she excitedly left the library. As she excitedly left the building, eager to read her book as if it was for the first time. As she made her way to the fountain in the middle of the town, she could still hear whispers from townspeople she passed.

"That girl is so peculiar…"

"I wonder if she's feeling well…"

"Her nose stuck in a book…"

"What a puzzle to the rest of us is Bonnibel…"

Bonnibel sighed softly as she blocked the noise out. Why couldn't people just leave her alone? All she wanted was for someone to understand her and support her interests and listen to her. A _friend_. But everyone was so wrapped up in their own little worlds that nobody seemed to be interested in anything else, unless it was gossip about her.

Everything was always the same. There was hardly ever any change in this place…

Bonnibel sighed quietly as she sat on the edge of the fountain. The sun was now out and shining down, making the water shimmer. As she settled down, she could still hear the chatting and conversations between the townsfolk.

"Hello!"

"Good day!"

"How is your family?"

"How is your wife?"

"I need six eggs!"

"What? That's too expensive!"

"There must be more than this provincial life…" she sighed softly as she finally opened her book and began to read it. She always loved this story, it did give her some comfort in knowing that there might be something out there waiting for her to discover.

Bonnibel sat contently on the edge of the fountain with her nose stuck in her book, whisking her away to another world. That was something she always loved about reading, you could travel around the world all while sitting in one place.

But her contentment was rudely interrupted by the sound of giggles and swoons from other women. Annoyed, she put the book down to see what the commotion was about. The girl rolled her blue eyes at what she saw.

Many of the other young women were fawning over the town hero who had just strutted into the town, a dead stag slung over his shoulder. A tall and brawny man with a strong chin and thick shoulders. His ruby red hair was thick and long, tied into a loose ponytail. His eyes were a dark green and held -as far as Bonnibel could tell- arrogance and vanity and his eyebrows were thick and dark. He always seemed to have a smug or arrogant smile on his face. He was wearing a ruby red tunic, black jeans and hunter's boots.

Aside from the look of egotistical arrogance, Bonnibel had to admit that he was a very handsome and good looking man. But unlike the other women fawning over him, she could see right through his façade. Too bad other women in the town didn't, and this was one of the main things that caused Bonnibel to be even more ostracized. Everyone saw him as a hero but she saw him as what he really was; an egotistical idiot.

Just as she turned back to her book, the thing was suddenly whipped from her hands. The girl yelps in surprise and looked up, just to frown as she noticed just who it was that had taken her book.

"Hello, Bonnibel." The hunter greeted her, flashing her a huge and charming smile.

"Good afternoon, Ricardio. Can I have my book please? I was reading that." The pink-haired woman put her hand out expectantly, making it clear what she wanted.

Ricardio ignored her and flipped through the book, "Oh seriously, Bonnibel, how can you read these things? There's no pictures in this!"

"There's a picture every third page, genius." She answered bluntly as she swiped it from the man. She didn't understand why Ricardio was so insistent in perusing _her_ out of all of his admirers. He had his eyes on her ever since she met the hunter when they were both tweens. As far as she gathered was that since he was the best looking male, and –despite her reputation- she was often considered the best looking female, naturally they should get together.

' _Isn't that great logic?_ The young woman thought sarcastically in her head. She was about to read her book again when it was snatched out of her grip for the second time.

"Ricardio, give it back!" she snapped, trying to grab it as the tall man held it out of her reach.

"Bonnibel, it's about time you got your head out of those books and paid attention to more important matters." The hunter smiled cockily as he tossed the book backwards into a puddle of mud.

"Like what?" Bonnibel grumbled as she picked up her wet and dirty book, flashing daggers at him.

"Like _me_!" the man flashed her his winning smile, which caused almost every young woman within a twenty foot radius to swoon dramatically.

"The whole town keeps talking about you!" he continued to a disinterested Bonnibel, "It isn't normal for women to be so… science-y and solitary. Or to read! Soon they'd start getting ideas and… thinking!"

Bonnibel rolled her eyes so hard it felt like they were going to flip backwards, "Ricardio, you are truly primeval."

"Why thank you, Bonnibel." The man put his thick, muscular arm around her shoulder, ignoring the girl's thoroughly confused expression, "Why don't you get your head out of that book and take a walk over with me to the tavern for a drink?" Without even waiting for a response, he began to walk her in that direction, despite her protests. As they walked, she could hear the grumbles of Ricardio's followers.

"What does he see in her?"

"She's crazy!"

"He's _gorgeous…_ "

"Listen, Ricardio it is a fine offer and I will at some point but my father is waiting for me to get back. Goodbye."

As Bonnibel started to walk away, she heard a laugh behind her. As she turned around, she noticed Ash, Ricardio's henchman. He was a pale man with platinum blonde hair which hung down the middle of his face like the forelock of a gelding. His eyes were a mustard colour, and was wearing all black clothing with a yellow belt around his waist.

"Ha! That crazy old loon!" he guffawed cruelly, to which Ricardio joined in heartedly.

Bonnibel growled and spun around angrily, "Don't talk about my father that way!"

"Yeah, don't talk about her father that way!" Ricardio growled at Ash, giving the shorter man a punch on the arm.

"Ow!" Ash growled and rubbed his punched arm.

"He's not crazy! He's a genius, unlike you two!" Bonnibel added confidently.

 _ **KABOOM!**_

Bonnibel jumped out of her skin as she turned to face her cottage where the explosion had come from. Smoke bellowed from the cellar and chimney and it practically rattled the earth underneath it.

"Daddy!" she yelled in alarm as she sprinted towards their cottage, ignoring Ricardio and Ash's roars of laughter, praying that her father hadn't been blown up with the explosion!

 **Yeah as you probably noticed, Ricardio is pretty OOC here and I'm sorry about that, I had to do it for it to fit in the story. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all in the next chapter. Feel free to review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok now I know I'm updating quickly, but it is only because the first few chapters seem to be the easiest to write. Once I get into the main chunk of the story, the chapters will be longer and more complex so those will take longer to write. But any, let's get this shown on the road. Oh, and I will be responding to reviews so:**

 **ILSU (since that's what you want to be called XD)- Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite Disney movies and I've been watching it religiously lately, as well as Adventure Time, to get this right. I'm glad you are enjoying it so far, thanks for the comment!**

"Dad?" Bonnibel shouted as she yanked the cellar doors open, only to have smoke and dust bellow into her face, sending her into a coughing fit.

"Dad, are you ok?" she called into the cellar as she climbed gingerly through the doors into the room.

"How on earth did _that_ happen?!" A familiar voice cried and as the smoke cleared, Bonnibel was finally able to see her father. He was unharmed, but stuck upside down in a barrel, kicking his short legs in the air. Bonnibel yelped and quickly turned the barrel upright.

"Are you alright?" she asked anxiously, that was quite an explosion that just happened. She was actually surprised that he seemed mostly unharmed.

Maurice squirmed inside the barrel until he was finally able to pull himself out of it. Shaking it off, he glared at the machine that had caused this whole commotion, a huge machine which was intended to be a wood chopper and gave it a sharp kick.

"I'm just about ready to give up on this HUNK OF JUNK!" the short, elderly man growled in frustration, kicking the huge metal machine again.

Bonnibel giggled, "Daddy, if I had a coin for every time I have heard you say that…"

"I mean it this time! I'll never get this broken contraption to work!"

"Yes you will, and you will win first place at the science fair!" Bonnibel put her hands on her short father's shoulders comfortingly.

"Hrmph!" he grunted, unconvinced.

Bonnibel leant closer to him so her head was on his shoulder, "And become a world famous inventor!" she added in a sing-song voice.

Maurice smirked, "You really believe that?"

"I always have." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek which seemed to enlighten her father as he jumped like a spark ran through his body.

"Well, why am I just standing here? I'll have this thing fixed in no time! Come on, hand me that screwdriver for me, will you?" He went underneath the machine to work on it.

Bonnibel rummaged through the toolbox to grab the screwdriver. She glanced at the table and noticed all the pages of paper which held all the notes of how the machine worked and what was involved. She liked inventing with her father and would often help him, though Maurice had insisted on trying to do this himself.

"So, what did you get up to in town today?" Maurice asked from under the machine.

"They didn't have any new science books out so I got a fantasy, it's still very good." She answered, handing her father the screwdriver he requested. She sat on a stool and watched him for a few moments before biting the inside of her mouth, wanting to ask him a personal question that had been bothering her for some time.

"Daddy…?"

"Yes, Bonnie?"

"Do you think I'm… odd?"

" _My_ daughter, odd?" Maurice emerged for a moment, his green eyes looking ridiculously huge due to his large goggles which made Bonnibel giggle a little, "Of course not, you're wonderful! Who told you that- where would you get an idea like that?"

"Oh I don't know… it's just…" Bonnibel bit the inside of her mouth, "I just don't seem to fit in here. I don't really have any friends or anyone to talk to…" she explained, her voice becoming quite sad. She loved her father's company, but she really wished she would have a companion who would be willing to listen to and talk to her. That just wouldn't happen in this town.

"Well, honey, you don't really try to talk to people…" Maurice answered after a moment, trying to be as kind as possible, "You _do_ spend a lot of your time with me down here working on experiments."

"Oh, but daddy, I love doing these experiments and tinkering with inventions with you… I just wish... that I had someone to share it with."

"Well, what about that Ricardio? He's a handsome chap!" Maurice wriggled his thick grey eyebrows, which made Bonnibel laugh a little again, but her face then turned into one of annoyance.

"Oh he is handsome, but he's also rude, self-centred, and arrogant and conceited… oh, daddy he's not the one for me…"

"Well, there are a few fine young men in our town, I'm sure you'll find one!"

Bonnibel bit her tongue hard, picking her next words carefully. It was something that had been bothering her for a while.

"Here's the thing, daddy… I'm not sure… if I _like_ men." She said carefully.

"Oh?" Maurice answered with slight surprise in his voice as he tinkered with the machine, "Well then, any ladies you like the look of then?"

"Ugh, no!" Bonnibel sighed with annoyance, "They _all_ fawn over Ricardio and think _I'm_ the crazy one for not doing the same thing! I don't know what to do…" her voice fell, which signalled to Maurice that she didn't want to continue with this conversation.

"Well, don't you worry about any of that." He emerged from the machine and dusted his hands. "I have a feeling this machine is going to be the start of a new life for us!" he dusted his hands.

"Is it ready?" Bonnie asked excitedly, really wanting this invention to work; for her father's sake.

"Well, let's give it a try and see!" Without another word, Maurice yanked the lever to kick start the machine. Without hesitation, the machine roared and screeched into life, giving the pair a fright as they jumped back. Maurice covered his ears, expecting the contraption to blow up. Bonnibel watched as the machine roared, rumbled and whistled and shook violently like a furious metal beast. She watched as the long arm with the axe on the end juddered for a second before… it began to violently chop the log of wood in front of it, sending it flying!

"Daddy! The machine works- Wah!" she cried as a piece of wood was fired into her shin.

Maurice removed his hands from his eyes, "I-it does?" he ducked to avoid a log being launched in his direction.

"It does!" he cried, leaping in the air.

"You did it! I knew you could!" Bonnibel hugged her father proudly, though watching out for any rogue logs that were being tossed around.

"Woohoo!" the short, round man cheered with delight as he grabbed Bonnibel by the hands, "Get Rainbow saddled up, Bonnibel! I'm off to the fair!" And with that, he rushed up the stairs to get ready.

Bonnibel watched him leave before climbing out of the cellar and towards the field behind the stables.

"Rainbow, come on!" she called. As if on cue, the tall palomino mare's head raises up and she cantered over. As she came to the fence, she clearly saw the mare's long rainbow coloured mane and tail which vivid and very beautiful. The horse did once have the usual silvery-white mane typically seen on palominos but it had accidently turned into this rainbow colour when one of Bonnibel's experiments went awry. She didn't exactly remember what she was trying to do in the first place. Prior to the experiment, her name had been Lady, but after that both Bonnibel and her father started calling her Rainbow, so the pair settled on the name Lady Rainbow, which suited the mare, who didn't seem to care about the change.

"Right, you. Let's get you brushed and hitched up." Bonnibel gave the mare a gentle rub on the front of her face and led her into the stable for a groom.

A hour later, the machine was safely secured in a cart with Lady Rainbow hitched to the front. As Maurice mounted the mare, Bonnibel took his hand.

"Now… are you going be alright, daddy?" she asked him, worried about him going alone.

"Yes, of course I will, honey. Just take care of yourself while I'm gone, ok?" he patted her hand softly, "I love you." And with that, he clicked his heels against the multi-coloured mare's sides and the horse let out a little snort as she started off in a marching trot out of the farm gates and towards the open countryside.

"I love you too, daddy… please be safe…" Bonnibel sighed quietly as she watched her father ride off into the distance on the rainbow maned mare.


	4. Chapter 4

**Silver Blue Eyed Wolf- Thanks for the nice words, and I am hoping to possibly use those characters somewhere in the story, though I'm not quite sure where to put them yet. I'll think of something! :p**

Lady Rainbow's ears flick around worryingly as the mare watches the forest around them. The sun was now setting and might was sweeping over the land. The once lovely trees now seemed to have long arms and claws, which looked like they were reaching towards her. The mare was just as confused by her rider.

Maurice shuddered and pulled his jacket around himself to keep the wind out. He was messing with his map.

"Where are we? I mean we should have been at the fair two hours ago!" He grumbled as he scratched his head. He stopped the mare at a crossroad and looked at the worn out signs. He could barely make them out. Lady's ears flicked around and she turned her nose towards the road to the left, she remembered how Bonnibel had taken them in that direction whenever _she_ was taking them to the fair.

"No, Lady it's this way!" Maurice said as he pulled the reins towards the left, which the mare resisted, shaking her rainbow mane in annoyance but she eventually complied and began to trudge down the dusty road, her thick hooves clumping on the stones, creating a loud sound every time.

After another moment, a loud howl suddenly came through the breeze. Lady nickered and her head shot up as she began to back up with worry.

"Woah, Lady, easy! Easy!" Maurice tried to encourage the mare forward but this only worried Lady more. Suddenly, as a bat flew out in front of her nose, Lady squealed and leapt back which launched the cart into a large tree which disturbed a nest of bats in there as bats swarmed out of the tree, surrounding them.

Lady let out a frightened whinny and reared up, making Maurice yell and cling to her multi-coloured mane for support. The mare screamed and took off at a panicked gallop deeper and deeper into the vast forest, all with a startled Maurice clinging to her mane.

"Easy, Lady! Woah!" Maurice pulled the reins in an attempt to slow the horse down but his efforts were in complete vain as Lady was far too panicked to listen. As the howls and growls grew closer and closer, Lady shook her head violently, and, desperate to escape the forest, she reared up, causing Maurice to lose his balance and fall onto the cold ground under her hooves. Panicked at the loss of her rider, Lady took off in the direction they came, leaving Maurice in the dirt.

Shivering and cold, Maurice wrapped his coat around himself and looked around. The forest was silent and dark with no signs of life whatsoever.

"Lady…!" He whispered loudly. No response.

The man got up and shuddered. All he could really do was look into the forest.

"Maybe there will be a cabin or something…" he muttered to himself before taking the first few tentative steps into the depths of the forest.

Deeper and deeper into the forest, Maurice shivered more and more as his mind began to play tricks on him. He could have sworn there were a bunch of yellow eyes staring at him through the blackened forest.

Suddenly it looked like those eyes were coming closer until…

"Oh no!" Maurice cried as the sight of wolves suddenly slipped into his view. They were snarling with their hackles all upright, baring their shining teeth in his direction. Maurice gasped and started running, only to hear the sound of many canines running after him.

Maurice panted as he mentally screamed at his whole being to run faster as the wolves began to catch up, his muscles ached and his eyes were tearing up as he desperately searched for an escape. Suddenly, looking to his left, he noticed a huge iron gate. Without thinking he ran straight to it and rattled it violently.

"Help! Is someone there!? Help!" he shouted with all his might, but his vigorous rattling seemed to loosen the gate as it suddenly swung wide open. Maurice tumbled through and managed to push the huge gate closed just before the wolves got to him.

After catching his breath, he craned his neck up and gasped at what he saw. A huge, tall and very beautiful castle. But as he was admiring it, there was a rumble of thunder above his head. Wasting no time, he ran to the huge wooden doors and banged them with his fists, creating a loud booming noise.

"Hello?" he called, "is anyone there?"

Just as he asked, the door suddenly creaked open.

Maurice, while startled, was soaked to the bone so didn't hesitate in walking inside.

"Umm… hello? I don't want to trouble anyone, but I lost my horse! And I need a place to stay for the night!" he called, hoping for a response.

"Why of course, sir!" a high pitched voice suddenly answered him.

Maurice looked around anxiously, "Who said that?"

"Down here, sir." With that, the old man glanced down and was alarmed to find a figure –knee height- staring back at him. It was white and round with small red stripes like a peppermint and wearing a small butler's suit.

"This… is _incredible_." He breathed after a moment.

"Yes, quite sir." The small butler answered, as if he was used to getting that kind of response.

Just as Maurice had come to terms with this discovery, another voice rang out from somewhere in the castle.

"Yo! Peppermint, is it ok! Is he harmless?" Maurice turned around.

"Who is there?" he asked, making the voice yelp.

"Yes, Finn, it's quite alright!" the butler, now known as Peppermint, called, "You can come out!"

With that, Maurice saw another figure come out from the shadows. He was strongly relieved to find that he was another human. A young man in his teens with long blonde hair which swept to his shoulders and wearing a pair of tattered green shorts and blue t-shirt. He looked worried and rather apprehensive.

"Hey, it's ok, son. I won't bite." Maurice assured the boy, who still looked worried.

"Woah… ok… it's just there hasn't been another person in this castle in a _really_ long time…" Finn answered nervously.

"Oh, I do beg your pardon for intruding, it's just that this storm was ach-ahhh- ACHOO!" Maurice sneezed so violently, it knocked Peppermint off of his feet.

"Oh man… you alright?" Finn asked, taking a few steps closer.

"Oh, yes… I'm so sorry about that. The storm…"

"Look, dude, the fireplace is in the next room, we can get you comfortable and warm there, get you some tea or something!" Finn waved his arm in the direction of one of the doors, inviting Maurice in.

"Oh, thank you…"

As the trio went into the room, none of them seemed to notice the huge shadowy figure watching them from the upper floor of the castle, or hear the growl it made as it turned and ran down the stairs.

The room was very large and grand with a huge glowing fireplace at the back wall and a large, very comfortable looking armchair in front of it. Maurice settled into it snuggly.

"Ahh, this is so kind of all of you." He thanked them.

"Hey, it's no trouble, man! We're just happy to have a guest." Finn smiled widely, showing all of his teeth. As Finn said this, Maurice caught sight of a large yellow bulldog saunter into the room. He was just about to put his hand out and whistle him over when the dog _spoke up._

"Finn! Who is this and why is he here?!" it hissed to the boy. Maurice was strongly taken aback by this, not expecting such a husky voice to come from the dog's lips. Or a voice at all!

"Shh, Jake! He's only here for the night!" Finn glanced around, as if expecting something to jump out at him.

"I don't care! Do you know what will happen if _she_ finds him here?!"

"Shh!"

Maurice was going to ask what they were talking about when a trolley was suddenly wheeled into the room, on top of it was a tea cup, teapot and… a little yellow elephant. But by now, Maurice wasn't surprised, he had seen a lot tonight.

"Why hello, sir. I just thought ya'll would want a spot of tea for those chills you have, hun." She offered, her voice carried a sweet southern drawl and sounded very kind.

"Oh, thank you, madam." Maurice thanked her kindly and took the teacup. In the background, he could still hear Jake and Finn bickering in the background.

"Get him out of here!"

"Come on, Jake, he's just an old dude who got lost! What could he do to us?"

"We're gonna get it, bro! We're gonna GET IT!"

"Shut up! Keep your voice down! It'll just be for one night!"

Finally Jake let out an annoyed sigh, "Alright, man…. Just one, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Ok."

The pair came back into the room and for some time, things were quite peaceful.

"Oh, this has been so lovely." Maurice sighed as he finished his tea, and he took some time to admire the room. But something caught his eye.

"Wait, what is that?" he got up from his chair and walked to the right wall where he could see… a large red battle axe. But it had strings like a guitar or a bass!

"Why, this is remarkable! Who made this?"

Peppermint gasped as he spotted Maurice holding it, "Oh, sir! I-I-I wouldn't touch it if I were you! It's umm… fragile!"

But just as Maurice was about to respond, there was a violent gust of wind from the door, forcing all the windows to open and the fire to suddenly go out.

"Oh boy…" Finn shuddered as he cowered with the other servants in the corner of the room.

Maurice froze, too afraid to look around, but he could tell something was behind him. Something huge as it was breathing down his neck, although it wasn't _right_ behind him.

"Were you planning your _death_ in the near future, old man…?" a low and grumbling voice asked him with a rumble of anger, as if daring him to answer.

"What-? No! No I didn't!" Maurice jumped, too frozen in fear to turn around. He felt himself suddenly being grabbed by the being.

"Then… get your dirty hands… OFF! OF! MY! **BAAAAAAAAASS!** " The huge, rumbling roar of the being's last word rattled every windowpane in the room, and causes the servants to all shiver in fright.

"Well, that's done it…" Jake whimpered as he shrank in size and jumped into a frozen Finn's pocket, "Tell me when it's over!"


	5. Chapter 5

**So we finally get our first glimpse of our Beast for this story. Also I'm sorry for the delay in this update, I was sick for the last few days. So, anyway, before I continue, some replies:**

 **1Fanfanatick** **\- Thanks for your comment, and I do think that this story exists for Elsanna on FF, might have to do a bit of searching.**

 **FexGoneHavoc** **\- Yeah, I do try to update quickly when I can, I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

"Why is there a stranger here?" the figure snarled softly, its menacing eyes gliding around the room, "Finn? Jake? Any of you buttheads know why there's an old man in MY castle, sitting on MY chair and touching MY BASS?!" it turned its rage onto the cowering servants. Finn timidly stood up.

"Oh-uh, Mistress! Let me explain this guy was lost in the woods and we just wanted to- YAAAH!" The boy screamed as the figure reared its head back and let out an inhuman roar which rattled all the windowpanes.

Maurice spun around and kept himself against the wall, his eyes darting around the room worryingly. Looking to his left, he was alarmed at the presence of a pair of mad green eyes and two rows of huge, sharp teeth. The man screamed and jumped back.

"WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" it bellowed as it advanced on the old man, it's thunderous growls caused shivers down his spine as he tried to back away from it.

"I-I-I got lost in the woods-!"

"I NEVER LET YOU IN HERE!"

"I didn't know you lived here, I swear-!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" it was now towering over him so that Maurice could see its huge outline. As it did, their eyes met and the thing froze.

"I-I'm sorry…" the man muttered.

"What are you _staring_ at?" it asked, in a much calmer but still threatening tone. It was only at this moment that Maurice heard the more feminine tone in its voice, but this was a dangerous creature so he would have to answer carefully.

"It's just- i-it's polite to make eye contact when talking-"

"Oh… I see… You've come to stare at the beast, have you?" it hissed, rising above the short man more.

"N-no, I'm sorry!"

"If that's what you want then GO ON! STARE AT THE BEAST! GET AN EYEFULL OF THE HORRIBLE, MONSTEROUS BEAST!" With that, with a swipe of its huge, clawed paw, ripped the curtain off of its hinges at the huge window, allowing lightening and moonlight to gleam in. At his very first glimpse of the beast's full figure, Maurice let out a blood curdling scream and leapt back, feeling as if he had just aged a decade from shock alone.

"Satisfied?" the beast laughed darkly, grinning devilishly with its dagger like teeth, "Now get out!" it added, its dark laugh strained with held back anger.

Maurice shuddered, knowing he had to pick his next words with caution.

"I-I am… so sorry intrude on your castle, sir… it's just that I was lost-"

" _Sir_?" it snapped angrily, making the man back away, "YOU JUST ASSUME I'M A SIR?!"

"I don't mean any harm! I just need a place to stay!"

"Oh, I'll give you a place to stay!" with those words, the beast swiped a huge paw in his direction and grabbed the old man by the neck, lifting him like a duck for slaughter. Maurice struggled and was alarmed as he saw he was grabbed by a very human hand, attached to a very human like arm. But the arm itself was huge and covered with thick, black-blue fur, and the hands were like paws ending in a claw on each finger. The servants could only watch in terror as the beast dragged the still begging Maurice out of the room…

Later, the servants had fixed the curtain and started the fire back up. They jumped as the door opened again and the beast returned. The creature grumbled under her breath as she sat in her chair and started plucking at her bass, frowning.

"Hmm… that old guy better not have scratched this…"

"Umm… Mistress?" Jake's voice cut through her ears, "What did you do with the man?"

"I put him in the tower." She grunted.

"What?"

"Why not?" she growled, "He wanted a place to stay and I gave him one!"

Finn and Jake glanced at each other and exchanged disturbed looks, "Was that really necessary?"

The beast turned her green eyes towards the pair, "He shouldn't have trespassed here if he didn't want to get thrown in the tower." She answered simply, "So there."

"But why didn't you just kick him out or something?" Peppermint spoke up, "It all seems very unreasonable, miss."

Now all of the servants were glaring at the beast, silently demanding an answer from her. It caused a tight knot in her chest and she rubbed the back of her neck. Maybe she did overreact a little… but what was she supposed to do? Nobody knew about her existence, or her servants… she couldn't risk just letting him go. What's to say he wouldn't rally up a mob to come and hunt her down?

"If I let that guy go how am I supposed to know that people aren't gonna come to this castle, hunt me down, capture me, put me in a zoo or _kill_ me?" the beast snarled as she rose to her full height over her servants with her arms akimbo, glaring at each of them for an answer. They all glanced at each other, unsure how they were supposed to react to that.

"Now get lost before I lose my patience! All of you." the beast growled, "I need some time to myself."

As these words passed her lips, the servants started filing out of the room. She didn't look at any of them and sat back in her chair, she picked up her bass and started to play it softly, working on a song she had been thinking of for quite some time. Just as they all left the room, she heard one of them say a phrase she always dreaded to hear;

"Sheesh, she's just like the king…"

The beast had to fight every fibre of her being not to grab the teapot –which was metal and still full of hot water- that was on the trolley and fire it at whoever said that. All that got out was an irritated growl. The beast knew well enough that if she had actually reacted, she'd only prove them right in that she was no better than her father. Although… she glanced upward at the ceiling, thinking about the tower, she already had.

An hour later and sighing miserably, the beast took her bass and, grabbing her cloak as she left the room and climbed up to the top of the castle. As she passed a window, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass, making her shudder violently. She couldn't bring herself to even look at her own paws, which were once hands.

'Of course they would kill me if they saw me as I am… What hunter wouldn't want to shoot a horrible monster like me…?' she thought miserably. Maybe it would have been better if she had let the old man go. At least in that way, if that were to be the case, she would finally get relief from this horrible existence… The beast looked out of the window, and towards the moon one last time before slinking up to the West Wing, leaving the castle in an eerie and still silence…

…A series of knocks on the door fell on deaf ears as Bonnibel worked away in the cellar. The pink haired girl was flicking through her notes and tinkering with any chemicals or machinery she could find. She was in her element here and always enjoyed times like this where she can get on with her experiments without interruptions.

Suddenly, she heard the knocking. Taking off her glasses, the girl sighed. Why did people always want to bother her during her precious alone time? As the knocks grew louder, she tried to get back to her experiments, though she couldn't get back into that mind set.

Then there was the sound of footsteps upstairs, which made the girl jump.

"Daddy? Is that you?" she called up, before she thought for a second. There's no way he would be back after one day! The fair lasted at least four days, it couldn't have been that quick! Did someone just break in?!

"Who is up there?" she shouted, grabbing a broom and making her way up the cellar stairs, grumbling at how her peaceful afternoon being so rudely interrupted.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she jumped as she spotted a tall figure standing smugly in the living room next to the fireplace.

"Hello, Bonnibel." It said in a familiarly smooth and charming voice. The girl successfully managed to stifle an irritated growl and kept a smile on her face.

"Ricardio!" she said in fake surprise, "What a surprise!"

The man was dressed differently to before. He was in a red tailcoat trimmed with gold fabric, a waistcoat, breeches and black boots. He looked very trim and proper, though Bonnibel really didn't know why.

"Isn't it, though?" he smirked, the forced nature of Bonnibel's smile flying right over his head, "I'm just full of surprises."

"Walking into my house uninvited, yes that is a surprise." Bonnibel smiled painfully, wishing he'd just go away. The man leant against the fireplace and watched her intensely with his usual "charming" smile. Bonnibel had no idea what she was supposed to think.

"What do you want, Ricardio? I know you aren't here for no reason." She said as she sat on the table, visibly annoyed, though the man seemed to totally ignore that.

"Well, Bonnibel. Do you remember that it is customary for women to marry once they turn eighteen?" He asked silkily, walking closer.

"…Yeeeees?" Bonnibel raised an eyebrow as she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she had a bad feeling as to where this conversation was coming.

"Well, a little bird told me that you had turned eighteen last week. And I see you don't have a groom." He said, slyly.

"Well I haven't been looking for a groom yet. I can't think of anyone I want to marry and spend the rest of my life with. Or if I want to marry at all." Bonnibel went to find her fantasy book, avoiding eye contact with the man, though he just didn't seem to get the hint.

"Well…" He stepped forward, putting a large hand on Bonnibel's shoulder, which made her freeze, "Why look when you have a perfectly good one standing right in front of you?"

Bonnibel froze, feeling a mixture of anger and disgust. What made him think he was so entitled to practically tell her that she was going to be _his_ wife?! She had no interest in him!

"Oh… um… Ricardio." She said, trying to keep her voice calm, "I'm sure there are other girls in the village who would _love_ to marry you."

"Oh, Bonnibel, don't be foolish. I only have eyes for the woman standing in front of me." He smiled, which only made Bonnibel more uncomfortable as he pressed her against the door.

Bonnibel, grappling with the door handle, was trying her hardest not to express her anger. If she did actually do anything, everyone would know about it!

"Ricardio I'm… speechless!" she laughed nervously, "I-I don't know what to say!"

"Say you'll marry me!" The red haired man said as he leant in closer.

"Oh!" Bonnibel finally managed to grasp the door handle, "I'm sorry, Ricardio, I really am but… I really don't deserve you!" With that, she turned the handle and in a simple movement, gracefully dodged the man as he let out a startled yowl as he flew superman-style out of the door. Bonnibel slammed the door shut and leaned against it with a relieved sigh that he was gone.

"Pfft… can you believe it?" she grumbled to no-one, "him wanting to marry me?"

As she went back downstairs, she was still muttering angrily, which continued as she settled back to her experiments.

"Madame Rico… can you believe it? His little wife? No sir, not me!" she sighed as she sat back in her chair, holding onto a book with her eyes closed.

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere." She said out loud to, again, no one. She sighed as she opened the cellar doors outside and climbed out to admire the sun as it had slowly began its descent in the sky. She sighed and decided that she needed time out of the house as she went for a walk, away from the village.

After some time walking, Bonnibel sighed as she sat in a large pasture, surrounded by dandelions. She sighed as she picked one.

"I wish I had someone to talk to about this… someone who will understand and listen…" the pink-haired woman, "I want so much more than what everyone has planned for me…"

She released one of the dandelion heads and watched it float away. But just as she was thinking, she was started by the sound of panicked whinnying. She stood up, just to see a dirty and cut up Lady Rainbow emerge from the trees, shaking her rainbow mane wildly.

"Woah! Lady, easy!" the girl gently reassured the horse. Suddenly she noticed that the cart was still attached to the mare, but to her horror, the saddle was empty.

"Where's daddy?" she asked, suddenly panicked, "Did you throw him, Lady? Where is he?" Of course, the mare didn't answer.

"Come on, you need to take me to him!" Bonnibel undid the cart and jumped into the saddle. She looked one last time at cottage before clicking the still frantic Lady into a canter into the woods.

"I'm coming, daddy…" she muttered under her breath, praying that she was going to find him safe.


	6. Chapter 6

**And now we finally get to my favourite part of the story! When beauty meets the beast! Let's not waste time and get straight into it, buuuut first a couple of replies.**

 **1Fanfanatick- Heh, no problem, I like replying to comments. And yeah I was excited to write this chapter, hope you like it :p**

 **Sailor-chan- Hey there, I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far and I hope it keeps meeting your expectations c:**

Downstairs in the vast castle, the beast's servants were going about their own business. Finn was sitting on the huge dining table, watching a disgruntled Jake pace in a circle.

"Well, dude, I did tell you this would happen!" The dog tutted annoyingly.

"Alright, you made your point, Jake. But come on, the old guy needed help!" Finn sighed, eating a sandwich with an irritated expression. He had been listening to Jake's grumbling for ages now.

"Oh sure, he needed help! Let's serve him tea, put him in the mistress' chair, and let him touch her bass! The bass, Finn!"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! I didn't make him handle the bass!"

"That's beside the point, man! You can't just let in any old average Joe in here! What if he was going to-?"

"Daddy?!" a foreign voice yelled, which made Jake jump and turn his head to the dining room door.

"Uh… dude, did you just call me 'daddy…?" Finn blinked, completely confused.

"No, there's someone here!" Jake jumped off of the table and ran out the door, with Finn closely behind him…

Bonnibel shuddered as she looked around the huge hall of the castle. It was dark with a high ceiling and rather frightening looking statues and sculptures of wolves, bears, lions and several mythical creatures.

"What is this place…?" she muttered as she took a few worried steps into the castle.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping that the owner would hear her, maybe they would know where her father was. Grabbing her pink hood and pulling it up, she went up the stairs and continued down the long, dark corridor, unaware of the two figures watching her.

"Oh my gosh, Jake… I don't believe it! It's a girl!" Finn whispered excitedly.

"I can see that, what of it?" Jake asked.

"Are you dense? This is her! She's the one who is going to break the spell!" Finn jumped, almost ready to dance with excitement.

"What? But what if the mistress doesn't like-?"

"It's worth a shot! Come on!" The boy took off after the girl as she went out of sight.

"Wait for me!" Jake yelped, closely following the boy. He didn't like the darkness or the scary sculptures in the castle, they made him uncomfortable. Though… not as uncomfortable as the beast did.

Bonnibel wandered gingerly through the closing and black halls of the castle, going up a set of stairs.

"Hello? Anyone there? Please, I'm looking for my father! Has anyone seen him?" She called, her voice echoing through the barren halls. She shuddered, worried that something frightening was going to jump out and attack her. Suddenly, she let out a yelp as the sound of an old door opening next to her.

"Hello? Who is there?" she asked, looking in the door, only to be faced with a spiralling staircase. She frowned and looked behind the door, she could have sworn that someone was there. But what she didn't notice was a tiny Jake scuttling between her legs after opening the door and jumping into the pocket of Finn, who was crouched behind a suit of armour. The two of them grinned at each other as the girl –holding a torch- gingerly began to climb the winding stairs…

Meanwhile, pacing back and forth in the dark halls of the West Wing, the beast grumbled lowly as she walked, perpetually trapped in questions. She was right to lock that old man up, right? He trespassed into her castle, why shouldn't she have locked him up? Although… she couldn't forget the look of terror on his face as he begged her not to hurt him… just like _she_ had all those years ago… The Beast sighed and thumped her head against the stone wall as those horrible memories rushed through her head.

She looked towards the broken bed in her room and sighed quietly. She had destroyed it in one of her fits of rage. Practically everything she had she destroyed at some point. Everything was either smashed, broken or completely obliterated. The only things that were untouched by the beast's anger was the glowing rose, the mirror, the floor and her teddy bear, Hambo who lied on the torn blanket of the bed. Letting out a sigh, she grabbed the mirror as she lied on the red covers, tucking Hambo into her arm. She avoided looking in the mirror and placed it against her chest, staring at the top of her four poster bed where almost all of the fabric had been torn.

The beast sighed as she hugged Hambo closer to her. She could never bring herself to do anything to Hambo, even in her worst rage. The toy was the only thing she had left that would provide her any form of comfort or security. She had Hambo for as long as she could remember, and as well as the rose and mirror, she didn't want the teddy bear to be touched by any other hands than hers and hers alone. The beast sighed and shut her eyes as she thought back to the events of the previous night. That man was still up in the tower, probably freezing. The beast looked out her window and noticed the first few snowflakes of winter outside. She frowned and looked back up at the ceiling, shutting her eyes again.

What angered her more was just the total hypocrisy that her servants had just displayed. Stuck with them for almost a decade and not once did they treat _her_ so warmly! Hardly any of them talked to her, even! They did what she wanted and served her well, yes, but there was no love or warmth in it! But yet when this round little old man came in, they were practically falling over themselves to serve him! They were happy and from what she could see, were on the borderlines of throwing a party in welcome! When was the last time they showed _her_ such kindness? All those birthdays and Christmases she had spent all alone… None of them wanted to show her any love…

The beast let out a small whimper as she thought about that word. Love.

Glancing at the rose on the table, she let out a sigh and rolled onto her side, clinging onto Hambo as she watched the glimmering flower.

" _If you can fall in love with someone and have someone love you as you are, the curse is broken and you all will return to normal…"_ she murmured to herself, she could remember those words as if they had just been spoken to her.

"Bah… what's the use? If I can't get my own servants to like me… how on earth am I supposed to get someone to _love_ me?" she whimpered, feeling completely defeated and hopeless. She did get a thought though. What about the old man? The beast let out a shallow groan, after her behaviour yesterday there was no way that would happen… While her mind was on the topic, she resumed her guilty thoughts about imprisoning him in the first place. Without sitting up, the beast grabbed the magic mirror.

"Show me the old man." She demanded. Within seconds, her horrible reflection dissolved into the image of the elderly man cowering in his cell. The beast's heart dropped as she saw the state he was in. The man was shivering uncontrollably in the corner of the cell, desperately trying to cover himself with the mouldy old blanket that was in the cell. His nose was turning blue and he looked like he was on the brink of freezing to death. He let out a chest-shattering cough which only made the beast more upset. Now she felt even worse… Sitting upright, she threw her legs over the edge of the bed and sighed as she looked at the key to the cells on her bedside table.

"Well… I guess the old geezer has learned his lesson." The beast sighed as she took the keys. He looked at the mirror again. The man was curled up in a corner, close to death. She'd have to be quick. But as the beast reached the door of her room, a sudden shout from the mirror makes her freeze and her hackles rise up on end…

"Father!" Bonnibel called as she panted. These stairs were far longer than she had originally thought. She glanced down and felt her stomach drop. One trip would cause her to tumble down a surely fatal fall.

As she finally reached the top, she came across another huge door. Sighing, she carefully pushed it open. As she did, she failed to notice something huge and dark slinking silently after her.

As she entered, she shivered violently as she was hit by a huge gust of wind. Looking around, she could see a row of dingy cells and there was a hole in the roof, allowing a long streak of moonlight to seep through, casting the whole prison in a silver glow.

"Father?" she whispered carefully. Just as she called out, she heard a long and pained groan.

"…Bonnibel?" a weak voice called from one of the middle cells.

"Daddy!" she cried as she ran to the cell, crouching in front of it. As she did, Maurice reached his hand through the door.

"H-How did you find me…?" he asked wearily. His voice was raspy and hoarse but there was a twinkle in his tired eyes as he gazed thankfully at his daughter.

"Oh, daddy!" she took his freezing hand, "You're as cold as ice!" she cried as she tried to rub his hands with her hoodie.

"Bonnibel… I need you to leave! Run away!" Maurice croaked, suddenly frightened.

"No I won't! Who did this to you? What monster locked you up like this?"

"I can't explain! Please just run!"

"I'm getting you out of here! There must be a way…"

"Bonnibel…"

"Maybe I can wedge something into the-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Bonnibel felt a huge force push her aside as the roar ringed in her ears. The force made her drop her torch, which shattered on the stone.

"RUN, BONNIBEL!" Maurice cried loudly, sounding more afraid than she had ever heard him.

Bonnibel jumped back onto her feet and backed against the wall, her eyes darting around. She could barely see anything, but then, feeling a rush of courage, took a few steps away from the wall.

"Who is there?!" she demanded so loudly that her voice bounced off of the walls, "Show yourself!"

"The master of this castle…" a growl came out of the shadows, much louder than Bonnibel's shout. The girl shuddered as she felt a sweeping wind of the being slinking around the shadows.

"Please… I'm here for my father, please let him go! He's sick!" Bonnibel begged, stroking her father's hand as he hung it limply through the bars.

The figure laughed darkly, "That's ironic… I was about to let him out just as you came." Bonnibel felt a tight knot in her chest at these words.

"But now I've had _two_ trespassers, that's not going to happen! It must run in the family." It grumbled as it slunk around the room, "If he didn't want to get caught in the first place then why did he trespass in the first place?"

Bonnibel, angered by the figure's lack of empathy stood up fully.

"Listen, you brute! Let my father go! He could die! I'll do anything!" she shouted.

"There's nothing you can do…" the figure said in a quieter, calmer tone, "he's my prisoner…"

"Oh there must be something…" Bonnibel sighed, closing her eyes, but then she was assaulted with an idea. But it was an idea she wished she never had to make.

"Wait!" she cried, reaching towards the figure, who stopped pacing and turned to face her in the dark.

"No, Bonnibel! Don't!" Maurice cried.

"What do you want?" it growled. Bonnibel stood up and prepared herself. She couldn't believe she was doing this… but it was for her father.

"…Take _me_ instead." She said strictly.

"BAH!" The figure released a sarcastic laugh before suddenly stopping as if something had just assaulted its mind and it was stuck for words.

"…You would… take his place?" it asked, as if it was unsure if it could believe what she had just said.

"Bonnibel! I forbid it!" Maurice protested from the cell, desperately.

"If I did, would you let my father go?" Bonnibel asked firmly, standing squarely trying not to seem intimidated by her invisible foe.

"Yes." The figure answered bluntly, "but… you must promise to stay here forever."

Bonnibel froze. Forever? Her mind suddenly flooded with reasons to resist this offer. She'd never see her home again… she'd never see her father again… she'd never get to live out her hopes or dreams… but… she glanced back towards her father's cell, she had to do it for him.

Looking back at the figure in the shadows, she squinted her eyes trying to get a good look at it. If she was going to be held captive by this tyrant, she might as well know what they looked like.

"Come into the light!" She demanded loudly. At this, she heard the sound of feet moving back.

"What?" the figure asked. Bonnibel was surprised, so this individual was afraid? Seeing her advantage, Bonnibel stood up fully, making herself look as big as possible.

"I said ' _come into the light!_ ' what are you, deaf?" she said loudly, which seemed to annoy the figure.

"I-I… I don't want to…" it growled, sounding irritated.

"Why?"

"I-I… I JUST DON'T!" the voice roared, causing Bonnibel to flinch but, since she still felt like she had the upper hand, she didn't relent.

"If you don't then the deal is off!" she snapped, slicing the air with her hand to make it clear to the figure.

For almost five minutes, nobody spoke. There was no sound. Finally the figure let out a long sigh and began to walk forward into the moonlight. Nothing could have prepared Bonnibel for what she was about to see.

As it stepped into the light, the girl was alarmed to see a pair of large black paws, tipped with ivory white claws on legs which bent back into hocks all covered with blue-black fur like a wolf. As it stood up further, she could see its lean but still huge body like the one of a large black bear, broad shoulders sprouted into thick arms ending with paw like hands, the size of catchers mitts also tipped with ivory claws. As its head finally reached the moonlight, it caused Bonnibel to lose all her confidence and gasp in shock and fear. What she was face-to-face with was the face of a black bat. Its nose was high up on its face and it had tall ears on the top of its head, which were constantly rotating around. From its mouth Bonnibel saw two long, dagger like fangs that almost reached to its chin. A long and unruly black mane covered parts of its face and swept past its shoulders and just shy of touching the floor. But the thing that frightened the girl the most was the creature's _eyes_. Not that they were frightening on their own, but because of how out of place they looked. Sure, the shape of the eyes was odd but aside from that, they were very… human like. They were a light green shade, almost like a couple of green pebbles.

As she looked away from the face, she looked at the attire the creature was wearing. She could see that it was wearing blue, ripped shorts along with a grey t-shirt with a red "No Smoking" sign on the chest, which seemed to be slightly too small as it as it exposed the creature's midriff. It had a wine red cloak sweeping behind it which was held together by a golden clasp around its neck.

Bonnibel was frozen in place as she took all of this in. She then noticed something about the creature's figure which surprised her. Due to its clothing she could see clear and feminine curves in its figure, it surprised her to realise that her captor was actually a _female._ Neither of the pair said anything for a number of minutes, they just stared at each other intensely. This seemed to make the beast uncomfortable as she shifted slightly in her position.

"Well… aren't you going to say something?!" she snarled finally, baring her razor sharp teeth at the girl angrily.

Bonnibel glanced downward, before looking towards her father, who had been watching intensely from his cell.

"Bonnibel…" he protested weakly, "Don't…"

The girl bowed her head before looking back up at the beast, who was still glaring down at her.

"You… have my word." She was finally able to say.

"Done!" With this word, Bonnibel felt herself being shoved to the ground as the beast opened the door to Maurice's cell. She heard the clanking sound of the keys before the door opening. She turned to face her father, she was about to rush up to him for one last hug but before she could even move, the beast had grabbed him by the scruff and was now dragging him out of the tower.

"Bonnibel!" Maurice cried as he tried to reach for his daughter.

"Daddy!" Bonnibel tried to grab him but before she could, the door had been slammed shut.

Outside, the beast carelessly dragged Maurice through the snow towards a horseless carriage.

"Please! Have mercy on her! Spare her! Make sure she doesn't come to harm!" Maurice begged as he vainly tried to fight the beast's iron grip.

"Shut it!" The beast snapped as she threw the door to the carriage open, "She's none of your concern now!" she added as she threw the man into the contraption.

"Take him to the village, and be sure that he doesn't come back!" she snarled and with that, the carriage suddenly seemed to sprout legs and, whirring and grinding its gears, started the long journey back, with a still begging and struggling Maurice inside.

Far away up in the tower… all Bonnibel could do was watch from the window and weep as her father disappeared from her life. Now she was doomed to be trapped here forever.

Trapped forever by a _beast_.

 **Remember, reviews are always welcomed ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, I'm afraid I won't be responding to reviews this time, sorry. It's almost 1AM here and I need my sleep ;n; but anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and I will catch up on reviews next time.**

 **On a side note, if anyone is having trouble imagining what Marcy's face looks like, watch the episode Sky Witch, there's a scene where she turns into a large bat to fight the Crabbit if that helps.**

The beast's mane and cloak blew in the wind as she stood in the snow watching the carriage leave her sight over the bridge and into the forest. This was it, there was no way to call the carriage back. The deed was done. But as she stared off into the night sky, the beast was suddenly hit with a wave of regret. That girl will never see her father again… She'll never be free again… Because of _her_. Rubbing the back of her neck, she turned to look up at the tower where the pink haired girl was trapped. Guilt tied itself in a knot within the beast's chest. The first time she encountered people in a decade and _this_ is what she does? The beast let out an upset whimper but refused to let tears fall from her strangely human eyes. She had to be stoic. Beasts don't cry. Beasts don't show their weaknesses. She was the master of this castle and she had to act like one. Her father never showed any mercy. But… She didn't want to be her father…

Shutting her eyes, the beast's thoughts travelled far back into the past. She could remember the last decade like yesterday. How she spent her first week under the curse sitting in front of the rose in a catatonic stupor, her young brain desperately trying to comprehend that this was happening, desperately hoping that any second she would wake up from this nightmare and she would be her original self again. Or how, in a desperate attempt to see any good in the situation she would venture into the Black Forest scaring the living daylights out of any hiker or traveller that came her way by jumping out a tree and roaring in their face. But it wasn't so fun when people started carrying guns. The beast gulped and gripped her right shoulder, remembering how she had been shot there once before. If she hadn't gotten back got the castle when she did she surely would have bled to death. But that was six years ago… Now, when she thought about it, if she came across hikers with guns she'd willingly charge at them in the hope that they'd get some lucky shots and put her out of her misery.

The beast was snapped out of her depressed thoughts by a worried and rather angry whinny. Her ears flicked around as she heard hoof beats charging in her direction. The beast yowled and dived into the snow as she found herself almost being ran over by a tall and very angry mare.

Shaking the snow from her fur, the beast jumped up and wrapped her cloak around her frame as a windbreaker. Turning to face the horse, she was surprised to find it to have… A rainbow mane? The beast's eyes widened, she had seen some strange things in the castle but this was a first. The tall, slim palomino spun around and glared at the beast with her ears pinned back.

The beast raises her paws and took a step forward, not wanting to be charged again but the white claws on her fingertips only seemed to annoy the horse more.

"Easy! I'm not going to hurt you!" The beast said, trying to keep her voice calm.

" _Where's my rider!?_ " The beast stopped moving as she stared in disbelief at the mare who didn't move and continues to glare angrily.

"You can talk?" The beast blinked, confused.

" _You_ are _made up of about for different animals, I'm not surprised! Now where's my rider?!_ " The mare snorted angrily.

"She's fine." She answered bluntly as she slowly face palmed herself in annoyance.

" _What did you do to her, brute?"_

The beast pinched the bridge of her bat like nose and growled lowly.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that."

" _Well that is what you are! I saw what you did to my master, beast!_ "

"Shut up! And don't call me that either!" The beast growled, waving a paw angrily, "Maybe _you_ can tell me what the hell is going on and why that old coot was here in the first place- Ow!" The beast snarled as the mare's teeth made contact with her shoulder, ripping a clump of bluish black fur from her skin.

"Don't _insult them again…_ " The horse threatened while spitting the fur out. The beast growled and slowly face palmed again.

"Ok… Can you _please_ tell me what is going on…?"

High up in the tower, Bonnibel had also watched the carriage containing her father disappear into the forest. She sighed miserably and put her chin against the stone window ledge as the cold wind sliced her cheek. Looking down she could just see the figure of the beast standing at the bridge. The girl felt herself grind her teeth in anger. She hated that thing. What made it think that it could just treat people like that? But what could she do about it? She was trapped up here with no way out… The girl then heard an echoed whinny as she spotted Lady charging and later biting the beast on the shoulder.

"Good girl…" Bonnibel smirked, feeling that the creature deserved it. It was never in her nature to wish harm on anyone, but after what the beast had done to both her and her father, she was willing to make a big exception in this situation.

Right after being bitten, Bonnibel then noticed both the beast and Lady just… standing there. Bonnibel blinked with confusion. Every now and again either the beast or the horse would nod, as if they were _speaking_ to each other. But right now the pink haired girl just couldn't care… it didn't matter what they were talking about. She would _never_ get out of here… Bonnibel sighed and curled up in one of the piles of hay that was in the tower in an attempt to warm herself. If this was going to be her home, she might as well get comfortable.

The beast slowly ran a hand down her face, groaning in frustration at the horse's words.

" _See what you've caused? So what are you going to do about it, beast?_ " the horse snapped, her ears pinned against her golden head, both eyes aimed squarely on the beast.

The beast sighed heavily. So… this was all a big misunderstanding. She looked towards the forest. She couldn't call the carriage back… she couldn't change what had happened. Looking back at the horse, she put her arms akimbo and huffed through her nose. Her breath was visible in the cold air.

"Well… I…" she sighed, "She will be staying here until I say otherwise."

" _Why?"_ Lady challenged, stomping a hoof in frustration.

"Because _I'm_ the mistress here! It's _my_ castle so I'll decides what happens to her! And you!" The beast snarled angrily, her hackles rising on the back of her neck. At this the horse lowered her head, but still glared at her.

" _Roaring won't intimidate her. And I'm not afraid of you either."_

"So you crapped yourself when a bunch of bats flew from a tree but when you see _this…_ " The beast pointed at her batty face, " _This_ doesn't scare you!?"

" _That's irrelevant…_ " Lady glanced away, which made the beast grin darkly.

"Sure it isn't. Come on, the stable is back here. My stable-hand will deal with you." The beast hissed as she trudged around to the stables, the palomino mare following at a distance.

Entering the large barn, the beast glared around.

"Monochrome!" she yelled, "Are you in here?!"

As if on cue, she heard a collection of stomps and scrapes on the cobblestone as a small equine –the height of a Hackney horse- turned on the lights and approached the pair. The beast didn't react but the sight of the horse was pretty unusual. He was slim with sleek black fur and an ash coloured mane and tail with a tall white horn in the center of his forehead and white eyes.

"You mind settling uhh…" the beast glanced at the mare, who rolled her eyes.

 _"Lady Rainbow, but Lady is fine._ "

"Ok, whatever. Monochrome, you mind getting Lady settled here?" she asked.

The small black horse responded with another series of stamps and scraping his hoof against the cobble. The beast growled and facepalmed.

"Where's Cake when I need her…?" she snarled under her breath. Monochrome shook his mane in frustration and gave a nicker in Lady's direction. The beast could only assume the pair would be able to understand each other so she decided it'd be best for her to return to the castle.

As she turned around, the beast heard Lady stamp her hoof.

 _"Before you go, promise me something!"_ the mare demanded. The beast rolled her eyes and turned to face the mare.

"If you are going to keep my mistress a prisoner, at least give her a proper room or something! And don't hurt her!" the pinned ears and the way she was snaking her head made it clear to the beast that Lady was serious in this. Not wanting to make any more enemies, the beast sighed and put a paw on the left side of her chest.

"Fine, I promise." She grunted before turning back out of the stable doors to return to the castle. Despite the bitter feelings she felt towards her servants, she could trust Monochrome to tend to Lady. The beast sighed as she thought about him. The Magic Man had been cruel to him too. Not that he had been much of a talker before, but the curse had rendered him completely mute and unable to communicate. Cake, the maid of the castle had taken time to teach him Morse code, but as far as the beast knew she was the only one who could understand him. The beast hated what had been done to her, but at least she could speak.

As the beast climbed the stairs to the tower, she suddenly felt quite… excited! This could be her chance to finally break the curse! It took almost ten years but this could be it!

"Uh… Mistress?"

"Hm?!" The beast snarled at the voice that had just broken her good mood. She turned to face Jake, who had come up behind her, holding a torch. He looked rather startled and like he really didn't want to be there. The beast sighed and lowered her tone.

"What is it, Jake?" she asked him in a softer tone.

"Um… I was just thinking, if the girl is going to stay with us shouldn't you maybe-?"

"Put her in a more comfortable room?" The beast interrupted, "Thanks for giving me information for something I already know, Jake!"

The yellow bulldog flinched again and the beast continued up the stairs, though she could hear Jake following her with the torch.

As the beast opened the door to Bonnibel's chamber, she noticed the pink haired girl sitting in the hay, covering herself with it in a desperate attempt to stay warm. As she heard the door creak she looked towards it. Her eyes narrows as she spotted the beast's sillouete.

"Oh… what do you want?" she growled, before the beast could answer she continued, "Laugh at me? Mock me? Say I deserved it? Gloat at my suffering?"

"Alright, that's enough out of you!" the beast snapped, every question she had just asked caused more and more of her heartstrings to twang with guilt.

"Why were you so violent? I gave you my word!" Bonnibel shrieked, jumping to her feet. She wasn't going to let herself be walked all over by this thing!

"I said that's enough!" the beast snapped.

"You could at least have let me say goodbye!" Bonnibel continued her verbal attack, "I'll never see him again! I never got to say goodbye…" at the last few words the girl's voice faltered into a depressed tone.

The beast's green eyes widened as she felt a stabbing pain of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She rubbed the back of her neck regrettably as she watched the girl who was trying desperately not to cry.

What was she supposed to do? Apologise? What would that do? It wouldn't bring back her father. What was done was done. The beast sighed quietly and took a step forward.

"If you follow me I'll show you to your room." She said with her hands behind her back, trying to make herself look harmless. This earned her a confused look from the girl.

"My room?" she asked slowly, unsure if she heard right.

"Yes."

"If this was good enough for my father…"

The beast growled and pointed out the door then back to Bonnibel, this gesture was repeated several times.

"You wan- you wanna stay in the tower?" she growled at the girl, making her flinch. She was about to snap at her captor that she _will_ stay in the tower but she was aware that her body was shivering and the tips of her fingers and her nose were ice cold, at this rate she knew she would most likely have hypothermia by morning.

"Well… No, not really." She answered finally.

"Then follow me." The beast responded bluntly before swiftly leaving the tower with a dejected Bonnibel following her. As they left, the beast felt something land on her shoulder and when she looked she saw a tiny Jake perched there. Although she didn't always want her servants to interfere with anything, she was thankful to have Jake close by. Maybe he could help her. Though then again, Jake wasn't well known for his cleverness…

The walk from the tower and into the hall was silent with the exception of footsteps. Bonnibel trailed behind the beast, carefully avoiding stepping on its cloak or its mane which almost touched the floor. As the pair walked she allowed her eyes to glide around the hall's décor. The walls were covered with carvings of gargoyles and mythical beings. They passed several suits of armour, the darkness of the hall made her almost believe that something was going to jump out of these empty metal husks and attack her. Above her on either side of the walls were statues of dragons, snakes and lions, all baring down at her and their eyes appeared to follow her as she moved. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up but she tried to ignore them and continue following the beast. Not that she wanted to.

The beast had kept her view squarely ahead for most of the walk. But after about twenty minutes of silence she couldn't stop herself from turning around and looking at the girl following her. While she was distracted by the castle's décor she couldn't help but stare. Despite her depressed expression the girl was very beautiful. She had a pale complexity with her hot pink hair flowing past her shoulders with some of it resting on them. Her fringe had fallen forward and partially covered her deep blue eyes. She had a very slim figure and seemed to be just under a foot shorter than the beast. She was perfection. As Bonnibel's eyes snapped back onto the beast, she whipped her head back around, her cheeks burning with embarrassment as she flattened the ears on the top of her head, burying them into her mane. Jake seemed to notice and decided to try and assist the beast.

"Psst!" he hissed towards the beast's ear.

"Hm?" she grunted, flicking an ear towards him.

"Say something to her!" Jake whispered. The beast darted her eyes a little before glancing back at Bonnibel.

"I... hope you'll like it here." She said, but this only to get a glare from Bonnibel. The beast bit her lip and glanced back to Jake, who moved his "hand" in a circular manner, encouraging her to keep going. The beast sighed and stopped, as she did she turned around to face Bonnibel who jumped back a little. The beast shuddered, there was something about the way the girl looked and acted around her that just made her feel completely uncomfortable but she decided to continue anyway.

"Ok… now I'm not much of a rules gal but there are a few that I need you to listen to." She said, but didn't get a response from the girl, just a cold look.

"So, the castle is your home now so you can go anywhere you want, except for the West Wing." She explained, this caused the girl to look up at her.

"What's in the West-?"

"It's private!" The beast growled, sweeping her cloak around her frame. Bonnibel lowered her head, giving the beast a glare.

"Secondly, if you need anything call on my servants and they will attend you."

No response.

"You can go onto the castle grounds and ride your horse at any point, but _don't_ leave…" the beast growled the last part, something in her told her that the girl wouldn't take heed to this but if she were to do this at least she could say that the girl had been fairly warned.

At the lack of response from Bonnibel, the beast sighed and continued their walk.

The three of them finally reached the room at the far end of the East Wing. The beast grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. As Bonnibel walked past, all she got was a blunt "thanks." as the pink haired girl walked into the room.

"Oi!" Jake whispered, grabbing one of the beast's ears and pulling it towards him, "Try inviting her to dinner!"

The beast blinked and then glared at Bonnibel.

"I want you downstairs in the dining room in a hour." She demanded, causing Jake to facepalm himself.

Bonnibel spun around, glaring daggers at the beast.

"Why?" she hissed, as if daring the beast to answer.

"You will join me for dinner!" the beast snapped back.

"You cannot be serious!" Bonnibel shouted, her back to the beast, "I will _not_ dine with you!"

"I DIDN'T GIVE YOU AN OPTION!" The beast suddenly roars, "YOU WILL JOIN ME FOR DINNER! THAT IS NOT A REQUEST!" and with that the beast slammed the door shut with such force that Bonnibel was shocked that the door didn't fall off its hinges. The girl froze as her mind suddenly revisited all the events that had taken place in only mere hours.

Bonnibel sat on the edge of the bed and stared mournfully out of the window as she shuddered at the memory of the beast. Its sharp claws and its deadly looking teeth stuck out in particular. How could it be that she was now under the control of that thing?

Staring out at the snowstorm, Bonnibel felt a tear of remorse travel from her eye and down her face.

This morning she woke up a free woman. Now she was a prisoner.

 **This was a difficult one to write but I'm glad it's done. Ok, I need your opinion here. In the next chapter I don't know if I'm going to have the story go back to Ricardio and have the whole "Gaston" sequence happen or if I'm going to keep it with Bonnie and Marcy so I'm gonna let you guys decide. Poll is on my profile.**

 **And again, reviews are welcome ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

Downstairs, Finn and Jake were sitting with Mrs. Trunks on the top of the grand fireplace in the dining room. It had arching walls with grand statues and it was glowing in the light of the fire. They could see the raging storm outside the windows, juxtaposing the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the dining room. However despite it's grandeur, they could not focus on it, as after a few moments, they heard the huge doors open as the beast entered the room, pushing the heavy doors as if they were made of cardboard. The brothers glanced at each other anxiously as she stalked in. In front of them was the grand table set with a fine feast for two, something that clearly bothered the beast as her ears were flattened flat against her head and her arms kept changing position as she walked in. But upon looking at the table, the beast's green eyes widened, then narrowed. The trio shuddered, that was never a good sign.

"Ugh... JAKE!" The beast roared suddenly, giving the three of them near-heart attacks, "WHERE ARE YA!?" Finn glanced at Jake and elbowed her in the ribs.

"Oh- uh- right here, mistress- uh madam- miss-" He stammered as he jumped down from the fireplace.

"Shut up." The beast snapped flatly, "Where's the girl?" she added, glaring at the clock above the fireplace. It had now been a hour and yet she was not there. She did not follow the order that had been given? How was she supposed to react to that?! Glaring at Jake, she crossed her arms, expecting a good explanation for this.

"Uh... maybe she thought you meant..." he looked at the clock, "Eight in the morning?"

"FOR DINNER?!" The beast shrieked, "ARE YA REALLY THAT DENSE?! GO AND GET HER!" With that, the dog lurched with a frightened squeal and ran out the door, leaving the beast alone with Finn and Mrs. Trunks. With a frustrated sigh, she dropped down onto all fours and began pacing in front of the fire, her hulking shadow masking the grand hall in darkness. The pair stayed on top of the fireplace as they watched their mistress pacing angrily.

None of them had any idea how long she had been pacing, but Finn felt that he was going fall asleep. It was only Mrs. Trunk's trunk that kept him from falling forward into the flames.

"...What's taking her so long?!" An angry snarl jolted him awake and he looked down at the beast, "I know girls are all into that stupid fashion junk but... urgh, why is she not here yet?!" She snapped at the pair before continuing her pacing.

"Now, ma'am, you can't rush these things." Mrs. Trunks sighed in her usual soft tone, "Do be patient."

"Great idea! How about I try to be patient for ANOTHER TEN YEARS?!" The beast snapped.

"I know you're frustrated, but do try your best, ma'am. Ya'll gotta remember she's lost her daddy and freedom in one day, the poor pumpkin."  
The beast simply kept her head down as she paced, not looking at Mrs. Trunks. She knew that already! And she knew how it felt... to lose her family and her freedom... and the others. It was her fault. Completely. No wonder none of them wanted to talk to her or listen to her problems. She deserved it. Completely. There was nothing she could do...

"Mistress?" Finn's voice broke her out of her thoughts, but she only turned her ears towards him, "Do you think... this girl could be the one that could break the spell?" he asked carefully. The beast turned her bat like face towards him with a grimace that made him freeze.

"...I'm not stupid, Finn." she growled, her hackles raising in annoyance.  
"Sweet! So, you fall in love with her, she falls in love with you and poof! Spell broken! You'll all be human again by midnight, I swear!" Finn clapped his hands together happily, "Things are gonna be fine!"

"Now, now, hun you know as well as I do that you can't rush these things. Love doesn't happen overnight." Mrs. Trunks sighed as she shook her head at the boy.

"B-But-" he glanced at the beast, who hadn't stopped moving, "The rose has already started dying..." he said quietly with a strong twinge of sadness in his tone. The pair of them looked at their mistress. While it was common for her to be in this state, but there had some been some disturbing developments with their mistress. She seemed... feral, constantly walking on all fours while hunched over and simply acting more animal like. It was almost as if she was being driven insane by the curse...  
The beast sighed as she sat on her rear, hearing Finn's words despite his voice being no louder than a whisper. Damn these ears.

"It's no use..." She growled as she stared at the dancing flames.

"What? No, miss don't say that-!"

"But it is!" She ran a paw through her tangled and unruly mane, "She's just... she's so... y'know..."

"Pretty?" Finn piped in, hoping to be helpful.

"Beautiful!" The beast groaned, "She's... she's so beautiful, I mean... man." she looked at her paws and closed them in fists as she shook her head, "She's perfection in every way and I'm... well... Well, _look at my face_!" She snapped, baring her teeth as she glared up at the pair in frustration. The unfortunate lighting of the fire casted red light onto her face, making it look worse. Finn and Mrs. Trunks looked at each other worryingly, not knowing quite how to react to that. She had a point.

"You're… just gonna have to make her see past that!" Finn jumped down from the fireplace to stand in front of the beast, "Let her see the _real_ you!"

"Hm… And what do you think _is_ the 'real' me, Finn?" She glared at him with narrow eyes, daring him to come up with a good answer.

"Um…"

"I thought so." She sighed, staring at the fire, "Even if I _did_ want her to look past this… I don't know how." she lowered her ears as she said this, feeling even more defeated.

Nobody spoke for a while before Finn, never one to give up, hopped down from the fireplace to break the silence.

"Well it's not gonna happen with that attitude!" He said boldly, taking the beast by surprise at his tone, "You can start by making yourself look… presentable. Straighten up!"

Not sure how to respond to this, the beast jumped into a sitting position though it looked the position of a dog rather than… well, human.

"Uh… okay, secondly you need to be civil!"

"What the hell are you-?"

"Try to act like a lady for once!" The beast's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out what that was supposed to mean. Wear a dress and act all ditzy? Ew.

"Yes and when she walks through that door, charm her." Mrs. Trunks piped in from atop the fireplace, "Give her a smile, a lovely and ravishing smile. Come on, show us the smile." she demonstrated with her own pearly whites.

Uneasily, the beast forced herself to grin, only to be greeted by recoils from Finn and Mrs. Trunks as they saw two rows of dagger like teeth. Finn had always wanted to ask how she hadn't bitten her own tongue off all this time, but he knew better than to do that. Seeing their expressions, the beast's face fell back into a frown with a look that yelled 'For real, guys?!' at them.

"But don't scare her off!"

"Charm her with your wit!"

"What wit?" The beast's ears flopped up and down in confusion. She never thought of herself as a funny individual.

"Be… witty!" Finn shrugged, "Throw in some good lines, amuse her!"

The beast nodded rapidly as she understood.

"Alright, alright… but what do I-?"

"Be confident!"

"But be humble!"

"Wait, but-?" The beast looked between them worryingly, trying to take it all in but their words came out like the bullets of a semi-automatic.

"Shower her with compliments!"

"But be sincere!"

"Hold up-!"

"Tell her everything about the castle!"

"But don't ramble, let her speak!"

"WAIT-!"

"Impress her!"

"But be gentle!"

"Arrrrgh…" the beast snarled as she grabbed either side of her head, feeling like it was going to explode.

"And above everything-"

"WHAT?! WHAT'S ABOVE EVERYTHING!?" The beast roared, losing her patience with the pair. Although startled, the pair both stood strong against the force of the beast's anger.

" _That_ is what's above everything!" Mrs. Trunks scolded.

"...Eh?" The beast blinked like a confused child.

"YOU MUST CONTROL YOUR TEMPER!" The pair yelled together, emphasising each word strongly by thrusting their hands in front of them.

Suddenly, the sound of the door creaking alerted the beast. Clumsily, she sat at the dinner table, struggling to get comfortable, her hocks making it hard to settle. But once she got herself semi-comfortable, she looked towards the door with erect ears, trying to smile without scaring whoever was coming.

"Heh… good evening, mistress." The beast's face crumpled into an irritated frown as Jake poked his head around the door.

"Jake…" she hissed dangerously, "...Where is she?"

Jake gulped and wringed his hands together, "Uh… yeah um… how do I word this-"

" _Jake."_ the dog jumped as the beast growled his voice in a silky and soft tone, "Where. Is. She?"

"Well… she's in the process of… circumstances being what they are…" Jake inhaled sharply through his teeth, preparing himself for the storm to come, "...She's not coming."


End file.
